Italy's World Cup winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon will captain the Azzurri in Monday's Euro 2008 Group C opener against Holland.

The Juventus star will replace Fabio Cannavaro as skipper with the veteran defender ruled out for the whole tournament with an ankle injury.

"Yes, I will be the captain," Buffon confirmed last night. "It will not be the first time but it still gives me great joy."

Buffon, who has played for the national team for the past 12 years, believes his team can go all the way in the competition.

Italy were impressive in the qualifying campaign, losing just once in 12 games while finishing first in their group ahead of France.

"We are the team to beat but it's down to us to prove it," said Buffon. "We feel we are ready for this tournament but we are also curious to know how ready we really are and that we will see it against Holland."

The Azzurri face a challenging group with games against Romania and France also awaiting them.

"The most important thing is get off to a good start," said Buffon. "We know how significant it is to start on the right foot and that has been a problem in the past."

The Italians only managed to pick up two points in their first two games of Euro 2004 and were eventually knocked out despite winning their last group game.

Despite the absence of injured wingers Arjen Robben and Ryan Babel, Buffon should have a busy night with forward Ruud van Nistelrooy set to provide much of the threat up front for the Dutch, who have not beaten Italy in 30 years.

Van Nistelrooy is happy to have put his problems with coach Marco van Basten behind him.

A strained relationship led to the hitman being dropped at the World Cup in Germany but that is now in the past.

"I have found peace," said Van Nistelrooy. "I feel better than two years ago, where I was going through a difficult time after my departure from Manchester United. I had lost confidence in myself.

"But now everything has returned to normal."